CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER IMPACT EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS

FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 15, 2014

The William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park opened in November 2004 following a multi- year process that included consideration of as many as 30 sites. At the time the downtown Little Rock site was selected, Central Arkansas leaders expected the Clinton Center to accelerate redevelopment in the downtown area, increase tourism, and enhance the state’s perception nationally and globally.

In choosing a site, President Clinton and his team wanted to ensure that the chosen location would benefit socially and economically. In fact, an abandoned rail-switching yard in Little Rock’s warehouse district was selected with the belief that the former brownfield site would spark reinvestment in the area.

In 1999, two years after the site was announced, an article in USA Today stated, “The depressed surrounding warehouse district has been reinvigorated and downtown Little Rock is suddenly the place to be…”

The Clinton Center and Park, built at a cost of $165 million, covers approximately 30 acres and includes the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, the associated archives and research center, the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, and the Arkansas offices of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation. In addition to the Library building, the Park includes the Choctaw Station, a renovated train station that houses the Clinton School, and the Rock Island Railroad Bridge, which has been restored as a pedestrian bridge crossing the Arkansas River. The William E. “Bill” Clark Presidential Park Wetlands encompasses 13 acres within the Park along the Arkansas River.

Today both economic and societal impacts from the Clinton Center can be seen throughout the Little Rock metropolitan area. The redevelopment of downtown Little Rock has extended far beyond the River Market District, where the Clinton Center is located, to include the Main Street Creative Corridor, the South Main Street area, and the Argenta District in North Little Rock. The tourism economy has grown significantly by every measure, from tax revenues to available infrastructure. The Central Arkansas arts and entertainment sector has been enhanced through new programs and new and renovated facilities. Educational programs and opportunities, both CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER | IMPACT EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS PAGE 2

through the Clinton School of Public Service and beyond, have made a tremendous impact on students across the state, while the reach of the Clinton School has been truly global through its student projects.

In preparation for the 10th Anniversary of the opening of the Clinton Presidential Center and Park, a thorough economic and societal impact evaluation and analysis was commissioned by the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce and completed by Boyette Strategic Advisors. The evaluation included information-gathering interviews with economic development, tourism and educational organizations; analysis of data from public and proprietary sources; IMPLAN economic modeling software and data sets; and secondary research related to societal enhancements, including almost 300 data and information sources. Economic impact results were modeled on the impact to the Little Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Pulaski, Faulkner, Grant, Lonoke, Perry and Saline counties.

Following are key findings of this research:

§ Investment in the downtown areas of Little Rock and North Little Rock has totaled $2.46 billion since the Clinton Center location was announced in 1997, with a total economic impact of construction at $3.3 billion.

§ The economic impact of construction of the Clinton Center and ongoing operation of the various organizations housed there is more than $346 million.

§ Travel expenditures in Pulaski County have increased 68.1 percent since 2003. § More than three million people have visited the Clinton Center in the last 10 years, with increases in annual visitors every year since 2007.

§ Total tourism-related expenditures of visitors to the Clinton Center total $691 million since 2005.

§ Travel-generated revenue in Pulaski County has increased by 41.2 percent to more than $28 million in 2013, while revenue from the City of Little Rock Advertising and Promotion tax has increased 64.5 percent to $11.9 million in 2013.

§ Six new hotels have been built or announced in the downtown Little Rock area, with an additional five properties undergoing major renovation in the last 10 years.

§ Robinson Center, the city’s premier performance hall, is undergoing a $68.6 million renovation, which will be completed in 2016, while the Arkansas Repertory Theater, Ballet Arkansas and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra have all enhanced their rehearsal and/or performance space.

§ Area attractions have expanded with the addition of new exhibits at the Little Rock Zoo, the renovation of the Museum of Discovery, enhancements to Riverfront Park, and the creative lighting of three bridges spanning the Arkansas River. CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER | IMPACT EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS PAGE 3

§ The Clinton School of Public Service has graduated almost 300 students, with more than 80 currently enrolled. Those students have participated in more than 60 practicum projects within a two-hour drive of Little Rock, in addition to their capstone projects requiring 250 hours for each project in or near Little Rock and international projects in more than 60 countries.

§ The Clinton School Speaker Series, which has offered more than 900 programs, has brought ambassadors, Pulitzer Prize winners and Nobel Prize winners to Little Rock for free presentation to students, as well as the general public, with total attendance of more than 150,000.

§ The Central Arkansas Library System has significantly expanded its programming, particularly in the downtown area, with development of the Arkansas Studies Institute and the Cox Creative Center, in addition to the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library located in midtown.

§ The Clinton Center was the first federally-maintained building to achieve LEED platinum certification and led the way for an impressive commitment to sustainability throughout the state, with 122 LEED certified buildings in Arkansas, 58 of which are in the Little Rock metropolitan area.

§ The Arkansas River Trail System, which begins at the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge, runs throughout Central Arkansas and includes a 16-mile loop through Little Rock and North Little Rock. More than $62 million has been invested in development of the trail system.

§ City Year Little Rock, an affiliate of AmeriCorps, was founded in 2004 to coincide with the opening of the Clinton Center. City Year members work more than 80,000 hours annually, serving 900 students in the Little Rock School District.

§ Clinton Center volunteers have donated more than 469,000 hours to the operation of the Center, which has a value of more than $8.2 million.

§ Heifer International constructed a new world headquarters and adjacent educational center on property near the Clinton Center in 2009, which represented a total investment of approximately $30 million.

§ Little Rock’s Main Street is undergoing a renaissance effort focused on establishing a Creative Corridor that will include mixed-use space for arts organizations, offices, residential, and retail businesses. In addition, the Little Rock Technology Park has committed to a location along Main Street and is exploring available properties.

§ The Clinton Library and Museum has 12 permanent exhibits related to all aspects of the Clinton presidency and has hosted more than 25 temporary exhibits featuring art, design, history, and music to attract a wide audience to the facility.